For almost two decades RC Sproul Jr has found himself routinely embroiled in controversy. RC Jr has never shied away from controversy. In fact he gravitates toward it. He's welcomed the free publicity that controversy garners him. Because of the controversial positions he's taken, RC Jr has found himself regularly featured as the topic of discussion on many blogs and social media.

Refusing to back down in the face of controversy has been one of the things that has earned him so many fans, even though he's the one who has usually been responsible for creating those controversies in the first place. Whether it be anti-public school (homeschooling only), bashing the civil government, patriarchy, full-quiver (anti-birth control), family integrated church (anti-Sunday School), flaunting the use of alcohol and tobacco ("Christian liberty"), etc., RC Sproul Jr has made a career of promoting fringe causes.

RC Sproul Jr could have found ways of expressing his opinions diplomatically, reasoning with and exhorting his audience. Instead, he's often been self-righteous, sanctimonious, dogmatic, and demeaning of all contrary opinions. This then affords him the added bonus of being able to play the victim when he's attacked for the positions he's taken and the obnoxious ways he goes about expressing them. His willingness to speak out forcefully in support of fringe positions has earned him the admiration of an element of the church who have felt disenchanted with, and disenfranchised from, mainstream Christianity.

Unfortunately, his fans have often shown a remarkable lack of discernment for knowing where mere controversy ends and scandal begins. They've seemingly grown so used to defending RC Jr over his controversies that they lack the ability to cease defending him when prudence dictates they should. They fail in asking themselves some obvious questions, such as: Is this topic/situation about a mere controversy or is it about sinful behavior? If it's about sinful behavior should I be defending RC Jr and thereby be deemed guilty of defending sin?

Several of RC Sproul Jr's sinful scandals have been so egregious that they became very public, being published in numerous Christian periodicals and blogs, and even in mainstream media sources. Examples include:

1. His defrocking in 2006 for, among other things, "abuse of authority in an inexcusable manner" (i.e. ecclesiastical tyranny) against multiple families in his St. Peter Presbyterian Church, stealing the tax ID number of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), a consistent pattern of duplicity, and other serious charges that he plead guilty to in order to avoid being put on trial for numerous additional charges, such as drunkenness and plying children with alcohol. 
2. His Ashley Madison Scandal in 2015.
3. His drunk driving Scandal in 2016.

In the first two cases there were a number of his loyal fans that wrote blog articles in his defense, and hundreds more that posted supportive comments to those articles, as well as comments to what few negative articles there were (as well as to YouTube posts). Things, however, did begin to change a bit with RC Sproul Jr's drunk driving arrest and felony conviction, something which even his most ardent supporters found difficult to defend. With his felony DUI conviction there may not have been any supportive articles (all news and blog articles were less than flattering). However, there still were dozens of comments posted to those articles by RC Jr fans who attempted to minimize the seriousness of his egregious actions of driving drunk with more than .175 blood alcohol level (over twice the legal limit and enough that normal people would have passed out long before) with his two minor children in the car.

RC Sproul Jr is hardly the first preacher to find himself embroiled in a scandal or two. In fact almost everyone can name some names of scandal-ridden preachers. In most cases when a preacher is outed for egregious misconduct he quietly withdraws to private life, usually for good; and this is as it should be. However, there are exceptions, and those exceptions almost always heap scandal upon scandal -- the original scandal itself, and then the added scandal of that preacher refusing to step down, thinking himself qualified to remain in the ministry, when all the evidence shows he just needs to permanently leave. Such has been the case with RC Sproul Jr.

Yes, RC Sproul Jr. was suspended from his positions at Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College over his Ashley Madison scandal. But that turned out to be a golden parachute suspension -- a paid vacation. The Ligonier Ministries board of directors, controlled by his mom and dad, suspended him with pay to the tune of a six-figure salary, all at the expense of Ligonier Ministry donors. Then after ten months right back into his former positions he went, all aided and abetted by his family connections at Ligonier.

With three major scandals under his belt so far there's still no indication that RC Sproul Jr intends to leave ministry for good, nor that his parents won't create some new position for him at Ligonier once the dust settles on his most recent scandal. Certainly he's made no announcement, either publicly or even privately, that he intends to leave the ministry for good. In all likelihood RC Sproul Jr has already planned his comeback. That concerns us greatly, but that concern would be somewhat abated if there were an indication that he didn't still have an enabling fan base. Unfortunately, even with his drunk driving conviction there is talk of "restoring him."

RC Sproul Jr has not repented of any of his egregious and very public sins and transgressions, so restoring him to a position of leadership is getting the cart before the horse. It shouldn't even be a consideration to anyone, but for some it is. Even in the event that someday he does make public confession of his public sins, and even if he does make restitution to the many that he has harmed, injured and abused over the years (for that too is biblically required, and even Alcoholics Anonymous requires it), would that alone qualify him to return to ministry? If would not. However, his manifest disqualifications aren't about to dissuade him or his enabling family members.  With a Jimmy Swaggart-like doggedness RC Sproul Jr has deluded himself into believing that, regardless of any misconduct, he remains qualified to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

RC Sproul Jr. is manifestly disqualified from Christian ministry, and that fact has been well established, and very publicly so, particularly since 2006 when he and his cohorts in ecclesiastical tyranny were defrocked by their Presbyterian denomination:

"Most importantly, their actions manifest that they lack the qualification for the ministry (1Timothy 3:1-7). It would be unwise to allow these men to continue to hold an office for which they are not qualified."

That, however, did not stop his family, ministry friends, and devoted fans from rushing to his defense. In addition to his father, most noteworthy of these were Doug Wilson and Doug Phillips, both of which have since been thoroughly and irreparably disgraced by sexual scandals; in Doug Wilson's case by defending and supporting two pedophiles, and in Doug Phillips' case by being exposed and civilly sued as a sexual predator himself.

Were it not for the encouragement of his devoted fans, and the enabling of his family, RC Sproul Jr might very well have left the ministry a decade ago. Unfortunately there are just too many naive Christians who have been eager to sweep RC Sproul Jr's sins and transgressions under the carpet. As Christians are prone to do they usually dress up their excuses in biblical-sounding rhetoric in support of their undying devotion to their favorite religious celebrity. One of their most oft-used biblical examples is that of King David. Here's an actual quote posted online in defense of RC Sproul Jr's drunk driving arrest, and there are dozens more just like this one:

"King David did far worse. We are sinner's like everyone else, the difference is we're forgiven in Christ. The man has repented and been forgiven. There is not one of us who would like our thoughts put up on a big screen for all the world to see. I'm just glad I'm judged by God and not man."

Anyone who makes such excuses for RC Sproul Jr only demonstrates their ignorance for scripture. Unfortunately such ignorance is widespread. Are we "forgiven in Christ"? Only when we genuinely and humbly confess and repent, something which RC Sproul Jr himself has stated, but something which he has not done for any of his scandals. As we've pointed out prior, RC Sproul Jr has been abusing alcohol, encouraging others to abuse alcohol (under the guise of "drinking in moderation"), and driving drunk for well over a decade. Is RC Sproul Jr sober today? Has he sworn off the booze as an alcoholic should do? Perhaps. Is he sorry he got caught? Undoubtedly he's ashamed of himself. But does that equate to repentance? Given his long history for proudly abusing alcohol and mocking anyone who expresses concern about it, at best it only equates to being sorry he got caught. Given RC Jr's track record of sham confessions and faux repentance it seems improbable that he's genuinely repented.

One cannot tell lie after lie in their confession, as RC Sproul Jr has routinely done, and then legitimately claim they've repented. An example of this is how he allegedly confessed and repented to his Presbytery in 2006, but then as soon as he was released from their jurisdiction he commenced to slandering them and contradicting the very confessions he'd formerly made. His confession and repentance was proven to be a complete sham in order to escape being put on trial. It was a confession of convenience, not a sincere heart.

A more recent and perhaps even more brazen example of this is RC Sproul Jr's Ashley Madison scandal, a case in which he outed himself, only as a direct result of Ashley Madison being hacked, in order to avoid a much worse scandal had he allowed others to out him later on. He "confessed" on his blog (which he has since taken down) in a highly manipulative way to garner sympathy and even admiration, all the while telling one lie on top of another. As we proved the evidence of his brazen lying about his Ashley Madison account is indisputable. That is not biblical confession. It's the ploy of a crafty and sleazy politician. RC Sproul Jr's actions leave no basis for interjecting King David into the discussion.

If we choose to make such comparisons it can only be to show how RC Jr has failed miserably in repenting as King David did. It was in the context of Nathan confronting David for his sins of adultery and murder that David penned, "a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." (Ps 51:17) Great sin calls for great contrition, and contrition is something that RC Sproul Jr has never demonstrated, only excuses, lies, duplicity, and equivocations.

And as for "not one of us who would like our thoughts put up on a big screen for all the world to see," how does that apply to King David? Oh, right, his sins were exposed to the entire nation of Israel (2 Sam 2:12) and then memorialized in the Word of God for the whole world to read about. God Himself clearly deems it just and appropriate to put the sins of prominent leaders "on a big screen for all the world to see."

Even with David's repentance, and God's forgiveness of his awful sins, God still imposed terrible sufferings on David. God decreed that the child that David had conceived with Bathsheba would die (2 Samuel 12:14). But even much worse than that would befall him:

Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun." (2 Samuel 12:11-12)

Yes, God forgives the genuinely repentant sinner; but that doesn't mean that forgiveness absolves the transgressor of the consequences of his sins. The expectation that RC Sproul Jr permanently remove himself from any and all forms of Christian ministry is a reasonable and biblical expectation, and certainly a very minor consequence for his egregious sins, in comparison to what King David suffered.

Why did the Lord impose such harsh consequences on David for his sins even though the Lord had forgiven those sins? Because, "by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme." RC Sproul Jr has repeatedly "given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme."

RC Sproul Jr's defrocking in 2006 should have been enough to prove that to his fans, and even to himself. If wasn't. He made excuses and justified himself and his fans followed his example. His Ashley Madison scandal in 2015 should have been enough to prove that to his fans, and even to himself. It wasn't. Once again they just made excuses for him. Getting exposed as a drunkard in 2016 and convicted for felony DUI in 2017 should have been enough to prove it to his fans. Driving drunk with kids in the car probably has finally pushed some of them over the line; but it's still not enough for RC Jr.

Christian leaders are held to a higher standard and God says they come under a more severe judgment -- by their scandals they give cause to the enemies of Christ to blaspheme His name:

My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. (James 3:)

For years too many of RC Jr's fans have shown little if any regard for how the scandals of RC Sproul Jr have given cause to unbelievers to blaspheme the name of the Lord. They've given far more regard to defending the reputation of a man than to defending the reputation of the one they call "Lord." Too many have labored to lower the bar -- the biblical standard of accountability, every single time RC Jr was exposed in some sinful scandal. They didn't learn to do that from the Word of God. No doubt they learned it from the example of the religious celebrity they admired, if not revered.

May the Lord God deliver us all of our hero-worship and turn our hearts to rely instead, not on men, but on the Holy Spirit to divide the Word of God for us.